Riding Waves of Entrepreneurship: MBHS Student Businesses

A quiet wave of entrepreneurship runs through the halls of MBHS. Students are finding creative ways to turn personal passions into small businesses – whether that means stitching thrifted clothes with patchwork or selling homemade treats. What starts as a hobby, or even a quick fundraiser, is becoming something more for students at MBHS, where they can turn their creativity into profit.

Senior Liana Gomez sells homemade baked goods, mostly banana bread and cookies. What initially started as a way for Gomez to make some quick money to go on an AVID trip turned into a blossoming business. Gomez’s most popular item is chocolate chip banana bread, which she sells for $2.50 a slice or $20 for the whole loaf. Gomez usually uploads her menu on Saturday, which she uses to gauge interest so she knows “how many people want which item,” and then she makes it the night before. 

Gomez’s goods were so popular that she actually ended up quadrupling her $200 goal, leading her to continue selling her items and developing into a business. When asked if this relates to any future career aspirations, Gomez said, “Not really. I think it’s just mostly a hobby that I like to do, and I’m just glad other people like it enough to want to support.”  As Gomez looks forward to the future of her business, she wants to start doing seasonal items for this holiday season coming up, including treats like sugar cookies. 

Junior Penny Dinunzio also runs a business of her own, turning thrifted tops into patchwork masterpieces displaying trendy designs. Dinunzio says she has always loved to sew, and it was something she had always done to repair jeans or put over stains. She first started sewing in 4th grade, where she took a class at Cuesta that fostered her love of embroidering. From this passion, Dinunzio got her idea to use her creativity and start selling her designs in order to get some extra money. Though Dinunzio thinks being in the fashion industry would be a fun career pursuit, it’s not something she can see herself building on any further in the future.

Most of the tops that Dinunzio sells are thrifted or from her own closet. In the future, Dinunzio also hopes to start buying from Brandy Melville so she can “get some nice quality tops and make more money.” Each piece typically takes Dinunzio 30 minutes since the motifs she makes are relatively small; nonetheless, “a lot of effort is still put in,” she says. Dinunzio markets her final products online, mostly on Instagram, or through word of mouth to her friends. In the future, Dinunzio thinks “it would be super neat to have a table at the farmer’s Market or something like that when I have more free time to actually make more tops, but I’m not really sure.” 

Both Dinunzio and Gomez prove that entrepreneurship isn’t limited to adults with storefronts or websites; it can start right here at MBHS. Whether it’s baking loaves of banana bread or stitching patchwork tops, their drive and creativity show how student ambition can turn small ideas into thriving ventures.